Scottsdale, AZ (My Sportsbook) - Major League Baseball and its Players' Association announced an agreement on Thursday for tougher steroid testing standards, one which will provide year-round testing and stiffer penalties for first-time offenders.

Under the new agreement, every player will undergo at least one unannounced test on a randomly selected date during the playing season. There is no specific limit on the number of tests to which any player may randomly be subjected, and it includes random testing during the off-season, even though several players live outside the United States.

"I am gratified that we were able to work with the Players' Association to address an issue which threatened the confidence of our fans in the game," commissioner Bud Selig said. "This policy is consistent with my stated goal of zero tolerance. I appreciate the Players' Association's willingness to revisit this important issue during the term of the Basic Agreement even though it was under no legal obligation to do so."

The new agreement replaces the old one, which was reached under the collective bargaining agreement in 2002 by the union and management. The new policy, following ratification, will be effective for the 2005 season and will extend to 2008.

A first-time offender will be suspended for 10 days. Second-time offenders will be suspended for 30 days. Third-time offenders will be suspended for 60 days. Fourth-time offenders will be suspended for one year and all suspensions will be without pay.

Under the old policy, players were tested only once in-season. A first positive test for steroid use was to result in treatment. A second offense carried a 15- day suspension or fine of up to $10,000. A third offense was a 25-day suspension or up to a $25,000 fine and a fourth a 50-day suspension or a fine of up to $50,000. A fifth positive test was either a one-year suspension or a fine of up to $100,000.

No player was suspended for using steroids in 2004.

"Players care deeply about how fans of the game perceive it," union head Donald Fehr said. "It was in that spirit that they agreed not to await expiration of a working Joint Drug Agreement before reviewing its impact on combatting any steroid use within the sport. This agreement, once finalized and ratified, will be testament to just how deeply the players are committed to that effort."

The agreement will also widen the list of banned substances in Major League Baseball and will include not only steroids, but steroid precursors and designer steroids such as THG, ephedra, as well as masking agents and diuretics. Human growth hormone will also be banned under the program.

Rob Manfred, MLB's Executive Vice President of Labor Relations & Human Resources, said under the new agreement there "will be a significant number of off-season tests" administered by the House Policy Advisory Committee, which is joint body with the Players' Association.

Manfred also said that in order to stay ahead of the game, if a new steroid is discovered, it will be "automatically banned under this agreement."

"In addition, the House Policy Advisory Committee has authority to add substances to the banned list during the term of the agreement. So we tried to be forward-thinking in terms of keeping up with the evolving science," Manfred added.

Even after the new agreement, the rules are more stringent at the minor league level. Under its policy, which is not subject to collective bargaining, there is a year-round testing program and first-time offenders are hit with a 15-day suspension without pay. Players who test positive a second time receive a 30- day suspension, and a third offense means a full season suspension without pay.

In the NFL's drug testing policy, a first-time offender is hit with a four- game suspension, which is a quarter of the regular season. The NBA hits first- time offenders with a five-game suspension. There is no testing in the NHL for performance-enhancing drugs.

"I do believe that other professional sports is the accurate measure against which we should be judged; that this is as good as any policy in any professional sport," Manfred said.

Since the steroid agreement reached in 2002, baseball has faced tremendous criticism, not only from its fans, but from lawmakers regarding the league's drug policy. Three of its stars, Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield, testified before a federal grand jury in December 2003 in relation to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) alleged steroids scandal.

"Obviously this has been an issue which has demanded a lot of attention," Fehr said. "There's been a lot of discussion both by and among players and with association staff. We put forth a program in 2002 after long, exhaustive meetings to see what would happen and we have all learned since then."

Senator John McCain had threatened baseball with legislation if it didn't change its drug policy. Even after the new agreement, McCain said Thursday there still is room for improvement.

"Major League Baseball's proposed agreement in principle on steroids appears to be a significant step in the right direction. Though at this time I do not believe legislative action is necessary, there remains room for improvement," McCain said. "For example, the suspension policy should impose stronger penalties on players who use performance-enhancing drugs. I believe the policy should suspend players from a meaningful number of games as the minor league policy requires, and that it should permanently suspend repeat offenders. I also have questions about the details of the proposed off-season testing policy."

Fehr noted that the players were willing to open negotiations to replace the old agreement, even before the league came under fire, for a more stringent policy.

"They said that we can do this, we can move in this other direction," Fehr said of the players. "We can and should have penalties for first offenders. We do need to have a circumstance in which you don't have a guarantee that there will not be another test once the first one is given, and some other things.

"What you do, then, is you learn with experience over time and you move forward."

The announcement came at the end of the owners' meetings in Scottsdale. Also Thursday, Major League Baseball and minor league baseball reached an accord on a new 10-year Professional Baseball Agreement, extending through the 2014 season.

Also at the meetings on Thursday, owners ratified the sale of the Milwaukee Brewers from the Selig family to a group of investors headed by Los Angeles businessman Mark Attanasio.